Best known for winning the third season of The Great British Bake Off and finishing as runner-up in season 19 of Strictly Come Dancing, John Whaite launched an OnlyFans page in August 2022.
Shortly after the announcement, Whaite clarified on Instagram that he wasn’t going to share anything sexual on OnlyFans. Instead, he was going to post “workout videos” and “cheekier gym-progress posts” that felt “more appropriately suited in an area where age restriction is better handled.”
But this week, a US investigator told BBC News that child abuse images are still “slipping through” on OnlyFans on occasion. And this prompted Whaite to react on Instagram with the following post:
“Following the news today alleging that users of the OnlyFans platform are still able to exploit young children, I have taken the decision to close down my account. While the claims are yet to be proven/refuted, I cannot morally continue to use a platform that is subject to such serious allegations. Exploitation of children is abhorrent and it is incumbent on corporations such as OnlyFans to ensure they have the most advanced filter systems in place to prevent and report such activity.”
Whaite added in the caption:
“I won’t put profit before social purpose. Child exploitation is abhorrent and must be stopped. I cannot continue to use OnlyFans until there is, unequivocally, no possible means of child exploitation on the platform.”
In response to this report from BBC News, OnlyFans CEO Amrapali Gan issued a statement that read:
“We actively work with law enforcement. If anyone makes the mistake thinking they can upload illegal content, we will report them. We’re truly the safest and most inclusive social media platform.”
Whaite doesn’t want to be associated with a platform that is facing such accusations, though this isn’t the first time that OnlyFans has refuted these types of claims.
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